Lately there has been a lot of talk among politicians about “tax reform”. But then I don’t remember a time when they didn’t talk about it. There is also a lot of nonsense being passed around that the individual income tax is unconstitutional. I am endlessly curious so I started looking for a book on the history of our income tax system. Lillian Doris’ “The American way in taxation: Internal Revenue, 1862-1963”, published in 1963, was the only one I found where the title did not shout out an agenda. The IRS may have commissioned Doris to write this book but unlike publications I know the government commissioned* this one is not a government publication. It is a little outside her normal field, textbooks for training office administrators, but it seems to be her independent work.

The book covers the history of the IRS as well as detailing the then current organizational set up. The history was enlightening, the sixty year old details on how the IRS' organization was not. I confess I only skimmed those sections. That is except when she was explaining how the IRS worked with other nations, helping them set up their own internal revenue systems. There were also snippets that sparked my curiosity in other directions. In discussing the rise of the “new” Automatic Data Processing System the author mentioned that the IRS started using data punch cards about 1913. What pre-First World War technology used punch cards? So much to learn, so little time.

For me the best part of the book was the letter to taxpayers from the Commissioner of the IRS that included with one years tax forms and the taxpayers responses. There were negative comments but overall it was a refreshing change from today's political rhetoric. The book was worth my time but it was a very fast read. Unless you are unusually interested in how the IRS worked in 1963 you can pass on reading this book.

By the way, the Supreme Court did rule that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to collect income tax from citizens in the late 1800s. But Congress passed the 16th Amendment and the states ratified it by 1913. Our federal income tax is all legal.

*Mauldin, Bill. Mud & guts : a look at the common soldier of the american revolution. Division of Publications, National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1978 ( )